Music is the universal language
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” - Luke 2:14
General Interest
NC-4 Frank Bello – A bold New Design from Two of New York’s Biggest Bass Icons
Frank Bello, best known as the bassist of New York’s legendary thrash metal pioneers Anthrax, has joined forces with Spector Bass to develop an all-new instrument. Dubbed the NC-4 Frank Bello, this bass is inspired by both Spector’s rich history and iconic American bolt-on bass design.

From its refined body contours and radiused top to the uniquely contoured neck heel, the NC-4 is built for speed, comfort, and stage-ready performance. Finished in a head-turning metallic purple affectionately named Tina Rose after Bello’s mother and grandmother and features a matching headstock, purple acrylic block inlays, and Bello’s signature EMG P/J pickup set.
Furthermore, the NC-4 features a solid Alder body, a 1-piece Maple neck, and a Maple fingerboard – a tonewood trio that delivers the perfect blend of warmth, brightness, and clarity. The neck profile, modeled after Bello’s favorite vintage instruments, offers a slim, broken-in feel that’s instantly familiar.
Finished with vintage-style chrome tuners, a modern adjustable bridge, and a brass nut for enhanced sustain, the NC-4 Frank Bello is ready to take on the world’s biggest stages – just like its namesake.
“Spector is known for quality. My signature bass is built for players and offers incredible tone, comfort, and affordability. From the neck profile to the woods, signature EMG pickups, and brass nut, this is my ultimate go-to for any gig, Anthrax or other.” – Frank Bello
The NC-4 Frank Bello is more than a signature model – it’s a statement. Available now at authorized Spector dealers worldwide.
$1499.99 US Street Price
Meris Enzo X Review

For many of us, an electric guitar is as much a sound-design tool as a melodic vehicle. On the days and weeks when I can’t seem to coax a song or hook from my guitar, I love the release of just making noise, loops, and atmospheres that can bring me back around to the guitar as a conduit for melody. Meris’ Enzo X—which, on many nights, left me rapt in one of these less-self-conscious states—is more than a noise machine. Much more. In fact, it’s a very capable instrument in its own right: a polyphonic input synthesizer that also happens to work brilliantly with guitar and bass. And whether you’re looking for an elusive song’s magic side door or scoring a movie, Enzo X can crack open new states of guitar consciousness.
First, though, a word for those inclined to dive into a pedal like this recklessly: Figuring out how to save and recall presets is essential. Like any interactive synth stacked with many possible tone and mood departure points. It’s easy to get lost, forget where you came from, or lose track of the sonic gold you find in your meanderings. And there is indeed gold to uncover here.
Scare Tactics
Many of the sounds you can trigger with your guitar (or any instrument, for that matter) will be recognizable as cousins to classic analog synths. Working from factory presets, I found voices evocative of Minimoogs and ARPs as well as triggers for cool sequencing and arpeggiating effects. A player’s inner John Carpenter can run wild among these voices. (Try preset 52, “poly 77 artic” for a start.) And as I absentmindedly re-tracked The Thing in my head, I ended up really pleased—and creeped out—with the sounds I found in the chase.
More relatable guitar-oriented effects are here as well. There are many odd but operationally accessible phasers and envelope effects, to name a few. But the big fun is in probing the synth’s voices and working through how your playing adapts to each voice’s performance envelope. Many, for instance, rely on pitch or envelope triggering, which, at times, effectively deconstructs the fretboard and your sense of touch dynamics. Sometimes that yields frustration. But if you’re receptive to what the Enzo X gives back, you can open up pathways that reshape your sense of phrasing and timing and push back at your most obvious tendencies.
The Verdict
The Enzo X isn’t exactly easy to operate, but it isn’t unintuitive, either. The interface and menu design are inventive, functional, and, after some practice, pretty fluid. By the time I found my own creative orientation toward the pedal’s many powerful sounds, I’d achieved a fast-paced rhythm for working within the controls. At $599, the Enzo X is an investment. And it probably won’t be an automatic fit for most guitarists that are song-oriented in the most formal, familiar sense. But for the right player, the Enzo X could easily yield more musical return than another electric guitar or several pedals at the same price
Laser-Engraved Paisley Transforms a Classically Configured T-Style

Fancy filigree distinguishes a reader’s ideal manifestation of straight-ahead Telecaster essence.
Reader: Charlie KramerHometown: Arlington, VirginiaGuitar: CAM Custom Guitars T-Style
I’ve wanted a great Telecaster forever. I bought my first one back in the 1990s and I’ve owned five or six T-styles since, including Fenders, Squiers, G&Ls, and various knockoffs. None of them had everything I was looking for: twang with body, great playability, big frets, and a just-beefy-enough neck—something that could switch between rock and country like a boss. I’m picky; I’ve played guitar since the ’70s—gigging and recording actively—and, in that time, owned a couple dozen guitars from off-the-rack instruments to vintage Fenders and Gibsons, pawnshop weirdos, and some custom made ones, too. But if a guitar doesn’t speak to me, it gathers dust and then goes on Reverb.
A while back, my friend Chris Moreau at CAM Custom Guitars was cooking up something special. Chris made a couple guitars for Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns, so he knows his stuff. He also made a superb Flying V-style that my wife gave me as a Father’s Day gift a few years back.
Chris put together this T-style with an alder body, a roasted maple neck with Jescar stainless-steel frets sourced from Havok Guitars, Fender Pure Vintage ’64 Telecaster pickups, and an engraved Wanby bridge and control plate. Then, Greg Wells at DoubleU Design Studio in Falls Church, VA, burned an amazing paisley design into the top with a Glowforge laser engraver.

“When plugged into a cranked amp, it could move from Waylon Jennings to Jimmy Page by just adjusting the volume and tone knobs.”
I watched with envy when Chris listed it for sale, and I had to play it before he sold it! But as soon as I had it in my hands, I had to have it. It rang like a piano, and when plugged into a cranked amp, it could move from Waylon Jennings to Jimmy Page by just adjusting the volume and tone knobs. The big stainless frets made bends smooth and easy. I wrote him a check and got out of there with my new prize.
Since then, it’s been one of my main gigging and recording guitars. I used it on a demo for my band Mother of States and played it onstage with the Vaping Nuns (a band I play in with Chris and Greg). When I’m taking a break from work or want to run scales, it’s my go-to instrument—always just a few feet from my desk. Finally, I have the T-style of my dreams!
Nobody Can Keep Up with Buddy Guy | 100 Guitarists Podcast
Buddy Guy’s high-energy, crowd-strolling performances set the bar for every electric blues and blues rock guitarist who came after him. And that includes Jimi Hendrix.
Buddy changed the game and left an indelible mark on the sound of electric guitar playing. He’s still out there, delivering incendiary performances to stages all over. On this episode, we’re talking about one of the last blues guitar showmen, whose polka dot signature Strat caught both of our eyes. Where’s the best place to start? And where did Buddy get all that energy?
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Suspended Truths

Suspended chords have a unique sound and play an important role in a variety of styles of music. A quick internet search will give you the basic theory, but few articles help you actually apply these ambiguous sounds. You see, these chords are neither major nor minor, so where do they fit in? Let’s find out.
What Is a Sus Chord?
Suspended chords are notated in shorthand with “sus,” and there are two types: a sus4, and a sus2. If you see a chord symbol that just says “Csus,” the implication is that the chord is a sus4. Starting with a basic C major triad (C–E–G) we simply move the 3 up a half step to the 4 of the scale (in this case, F). You end up with C–F–G, which is shown in Ex. 1. A word to the wise: Break down your major chord shapes and locate the 3. That is the note you need to move up one fret to turn it into a sus4 shape.

Suspended chords are typically the dominant chord in a key, also called the V chord. A Vsus4 chord creates musical tension and a sense of ambiguity. It will typically resolve back to the V chord and then resolve to the I chord. Look at Ex. 2 to see how this tension-release resolution sounds, and how it works on the guitar.

Dominant 7 chords can also be suspended as well. The process is the same, so your dominant 7 chord goes from 1–3–5–b7 to a 7sus4, which is spelled 1–4–5–b7. Ex. 3 shows some common C7sus4 to C7 voicings. You can find these dominant 7 suspended sounds in multiple styles and sub-styles of jazz, funk, and disco. Take a look at Ex. 4 to see some three-note voicings that are found in those styles.


Let’s continue with the C7sus4 sound, building it in a couple of different ways. The first is what is called a “polychord” (or sometimes a “change-bass” chord). If you play a Bb major triad over a C bass note, you have effectively built a chord that functions as C7sus4. It could be labeled as Bb/C and spelled C–Bb–D–F. This voicing is a very common sub for a traditional 7sus4 chord and has three of the four notes needed to create that sound. There’s no 5, but that’s ok. The 5 is a throwaway note when it’s not altered. The second way is to play a voicing that keeps the 3 and 4 but still sacrifices the 5, providing some interesting musical tension. Each of these voicings are seen in Ex. 5.

So, how do you play over a suspended chord?
Since a suspended chord functions as the V chord in a key, you would use the Mixolydian mode to play over that sound. Be careful to stay away from really bluesy guitar licks or running up and down the scale. Stick to sequences, patterns, or other structures, and listen to Ex. 6 for some possibilities.
The next couple of approaches use the Bb/C chord structure as inspiration. Remember that C7sus4 is the V chord in the key of F, and Bb is the IV chord in that key. Use that pair of triads to create your melodies since you have Bb–D–F and C–E–G at your disposal. If you line those notes up as a scale, you get C–D–E–F–G–Bb, which is just one note shy of the C Mixolydian mode. The difference is that you are organizing the notes in triads as opposed to a scale. Take a listen to Ex. 7 as one possibility on how to break up the triads while creating a solo.
Next, focus your solo on just the sound of the IV chord, or Bbmaj7. Experiment with limiting yourself to just the notes of the chord, Bb–D–F–A, and hear how they sound like the b7, 9, 11, and 13 of C7sus4. You can also loosen it up a bit, emphasizing those four notes while using some other scale tones, as heard in Ex. 8.
Last, but definitely not least, is to use the minor pentatonic that is a fifth above the root of your suspended chord. For C7sus4, you would play the G minor pentatonic scale, where G–Bb–C–D–F become the 5–b7–1–9–11 of the C7sus4 chord. This approach works really well since you have all the notes of your suspended chord, and the 9th for some added flavor. Again, blues licks probably won’t sound like you think. Try them out anyway just to hear that they don’t fit very well over a suspended sound. Take a listen to Ex. 9 for some non-blues pentatonic ideas.
Suspended chords have an open, undefined sound to them. They are neither major nor minor and need a slightly different approach when soloing to make it sound right. There are plenty of resources on triad pairs, pentatonic patterns, and hexatonic scales to keep you busy. Start with one approach and keep it simple.
“Like having a professional gear consultant in the palm of your hand”: Guitar Center introduces Rig Advisor, the guitar world’s first-ever AI shopping assistant
“She gets on the intercom and says, ‘There's a boy from Australia here to see you.’ I hear him say, ‘Is he a fingerpicker?’” Tommy Emmanuel knocked on the door of his biggest guitar hero – and ended up jamming with him
Bad Cat Launches Mod Shop Black Cat 30 Head and Combo
Bad Cat Amplifiers has introduced the Mod Shop Black Cat 30 Head and Combo—the debut models from its new Mod Shop series and one of the final amplifier projects touched by Mark Sampson.

Before his passing, Sampson—co-founder of the boutique amp movement and one of the most respected circuit designers in the industry—collaborated with Bad Cat on a number of designs. Among them was a fresh take on the award-winning Black Cat. The result is a limited amplifier that blends Bad Cat’s signature character with a bigger, bolder voice, infused with Sampson’s distinct approach to tone shaping.
Key Features:
- 30 watts of EL84 Power – Four EL84s provide signature Class A chime, natural compression, and harmonic richness.
- All-new tone stack – Revoiced by Sampson for enhanced openness and dimension.
- Two independent channels – A rich, dynamic clean channel and a punchy, articulate overdrive.
- Studio-quality reverb and analog bias-modulated tremolo – Lush, vintage-inspired depth and movement.
- Built for real-world use – Buffered effects loop, multiple speaker outputs, and a direct line out for cab sims or IRs.
Handcrafted in Costa Mesa, California, the Mod Shop Black Cat 30 is built with premium components, custom hand-wound transformers, and a level of detail worthy of the Mod Shop name.
Combo Specs:
- Custom UK-made 12” Celestion Bad Cat speaker
- Dimensions: 23.75”W x 10.375”D x 19”H
- Weight: 48 lbs.
Head Specs:
- Dimensions: 20.75”W x 10.375”D x 10”H
- Weight: 31 lbs.
Both versions include a two-button footswitch (Channel Select and Tremolo) and come with a 3-year limited warranty.
The Mod Shop Black Cat 30 Head and Combo are available now and carry street prices of $2299 and $2499 respectively. To learn more or place an order, visit www.badcatamps.com
BOSS Announces RT-2 Rotary Ensemble

BOSS announces the RT-2 Rotary Ensemble, the latest member of the company’s famous compact pedal lineup. Rotary speaker cabinets are a vital part of the classic combo organ voice, and guitarists and other musicians have also used them to infuse iconic tracks with their distinctive depth and rich modulation. Powered by the latest BOSS advancements, the RT-2 distills this expressive spatial effect into a pedalboard-friendly footprint with three sound modes, deep tonal shaping, multiple audio output configurations, and advanced real-time sound control.
The most revered rotary speaker designs feature a spinning high-frequency horn (treble rotor) and a woofer that feeds into a rotating drum (bass rotor). Changing rotor speeds between fast and slow creates a steady stream of tonal shifts that players have long used for interesting sonic movement. The RT-2 authentically replicates these complex audio behaviors, coupled with two-way speed control, a Rise/Fall Time switch for adjusting the transition time between speeds, and a colorful indicator that shows the current rotation of the virtual rotors.
The versatile RT-2 has a three-position Mode switch for selecting a classic rotary speaker sound or two modern variations developed with custom BOSS tuning. There’s also a Drive knob to add pleasing distortion inspired by the tube amplification circuits in vintage rotary speaker cabinets. Via a rear-panel switch, this dual-function control can be assigned to adjust the volume balance between the treble and bass rotors for different tonal characteristics.
Real-time speed control is essential to the rotary experience, and the RT-2 includes many options to achieve it. The pedal switch offers four operation types with clever ways to bypass the effect and change speeds while performing. Connecting external footswitches provides independent speed control and access to a “brake” setting that stops the virtual rotors at their current positions for unique tones. Alternately, an expression pedal unlocks continuous control of level, drive, balance, and speed, complete with assignable settings for each parameter.
To learn more about the RT-2 Rotary Ensemble, visit https://www.boss.info.Availability & Pricing
The BOSS RT-2 Rotary Ensemble will be available in July 2025, for $239.99.
“The spectre of being sent to the jungle and getting killed – getting relief from that was a big deal. So after my discharge, I ran in my house and picked up my guitar”: John Fogerty on the origins of Creedence Clearwater Revival mega-hit Proud Mary
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river… Whether you’re thinking of the original Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 roots rock classic, or the Grammy-winning 1971 Tina Turner cover, Proud Mary is an undeniable classic. But it wouldn’t have been written if John Fogerty hadn’t had a six month stint in the army…
In a new interview with Classic Rock, the CCR frontman reflects on his time in the army in 1967. While it isn’t an experience he looks on fondly, his eventual honourable discharge encouraged him knuckle down on his creativity. “There’s nothing like having something taken away to make you appreciate it,” he reflects.
“In the army, you’re not free, you’re not self-determining. And so, when you get back home and you now have time to decide your own schedule, you also decide to be a little more careful what you spend your energy on.”
For Fogerty, his priority was channelling his energy into his music. “I decided, for one, ‘Wow I gotta get more organised about my songwriting,’ because I’d always kinda done it haphazard – not really a specific approach,” he explains.
“So, I went and got a little notebook… I guess the idea in my mind was simply, ‘Well, you’ve got to have a place where you write every down so it’s all in one place’… and that was a big change in my life.”
With the help of his new notebook and creative determination, Fogerty would help piece together Proud Mary. It’s his own musical ode to freedom. “It’s a strange story behind the song that not many have as their motivation, I suppose,” he says. “But, for me, the hype of the Vietnam war and the spectre of being sent to the jungle and possibly getting maimed or dying, getting relief from that was a very big deal.”
“So, getting my honourable discharge, I ran right in the house and picked up my guitar, and the first line of Proud Mary is, ‘Left a good job in the city/Working for the man every night and day’. I mean, that’s exactly it. I felt relieved and elevated that I was finally free.”
Last year, Fogerty reflected on the importance of Proud Mary, noting it as a pivotal moment in his musical career. In fact, it was the first time he had ever fully finished a song. “When I finished Proud Mary, that was such an amazing experience — almost like being abducted by a flying saucer,” he told Guitar Player. “I had never really written a great song before, even though I had tried many times.”
“When I finished, I was holding that piece of paper in my hand, almost 90 percent of it was on the page there, and I had a title and a chorus,” he continued. “And I could just hear it… and I realised I had just written what you’d call a classic. I was awestruck.”
“I was excited, trembling. I was almost scared of it! It was almost as if you’d walked into a room and discovered some amazing treasure and secret. And at that first moment, I was terrified that this might be it, that I would never get to do this again.”
The post “The spectre of being sent to the jungle and getting killed – getting relief from that was a big deal. So after my discharge, I ran in my house and picked up my guitar”: John Fogerty on the origins of Creedence Clearwater Revival mega-hit Proud Mary appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“I’ve got 7 guitar solos throughout the set, which is kind of insane – and that’s totally from her wanting that”: With Olivia Rodrigo, Arianna Powell is staking her claim as a guitar hero for a whole new audience
“People think, ‘Oh, you’re a rich rock star.’ No. I sell shirts outta my f**king closet”: Gary Holt on the reality of being a metal guitarist in 2025
With the rising cost of touring and infamously low streaming revenue, even rockstars can struggle to make ends meet. In fact, Exodus and Slayer guitarist Gary Holt has spoken out about how he even sends out his own merch to earn more money.
In a recent chat with German outlet Medal.de, Holt explains that everything on his Holt Awaits webstore is packaged and delivered by him. “People think, ‘Oh, you’re a rich rock star’… No!” he admits. “I sell shirts, and I sell them outta my fucking closet. Pack this one up, label it, send it off.”
While it doesn’t cover all of his living costs, selling merch is something that “helps” Holt get by. “It doesn’t pay the bills,” he says. “[But] it helps… It helped a lot in the pandemic.”
Considering his work in thrash metal hasn’t set him up for life, Holt jokes that his retirement plans might have to centre around some illegal activity. “[I might] turn to a life of crime, maybe,” he says. “I don’t know. I haven’t found a way to make money being charming, so I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
If Holt doesn’t fall into a life of crime, he thinks he’ll stick within the realms of metal. “If I honestly retired, I’d probably do more producing,” he muses. “I’d stay in music. But sometimes I daydream about not leaving the house.”
Of course, a full retirement is still a few years away. Slayer pulled off a killer performance at Black Sabbath’s final farewell show, and Exodus just rounded off a European Summer tour, with a pair of shows set for September. “I’m not full of energy – I’m fucking tired,” Holt notes. “But we’re gonna do this as hard as we can, as heavy as we can until we can’t.”
“That’s why we recorded so much music [for Exodus’ next record]. We figured, do it now while we are still able to. Who knows? I’ve had elbow problems, hand problems, and shoulder problems now. Maybe in five years, age will catch up, and the arthritis will get bad, and I can’t do it. I don’t know.”
In a recent chat with Serbian journalist Jadranka Janković Nešić, Holt also discussed Exodus’s follow up to 2021’s Persona Non Grata. “It’s going to be released as two totally separate records,” he revealed. “We had so much material that we just [thought], let’s work extra hard.”
“I wish we had 20 songs done instead of 18, because then we would have the next album done! Then I could go on vacation or something. I’ve never had one.”
The post “People think, ‘Oh, you’re a rich rock star.’ No. I sell shirts outta my f**king closet”: Gary Holt on the reality of being a metal guitarist in 2025 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“That will be the end of JHS after more than 60 years”: Vintage and Fret-King owner John Hornby Skewes & Co is closing down – but not because of financial troubles
The time Robert Fripp claimed Jimi Hendrix “wasn’t a guitarist” and that Eric Clapton was “mostly quite banal”
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp certainly has a way with words, and while these days his lack of filter often gives himself and wife Toyah Willcox the giggles, it seems back in the day he wasn’t one to hold back on his musical opinions either.
Among the era of the band’s Red album, as well as Starless And Bible Black, Fripp sat down for a chat with Guitar Player. In the 1974 interview, which has been newly shared on the publication’s website, Fripp had some incredibly bold opinions on the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and guitar in general.
“I’ve never really listened to guitarists, because they’ve never really interested me,” he told the magazine. “I think the guitar is a pretty feeble instrument. Virtually nothing interests me about the guitar.”
He went on to add, “I haven’t been influenced by Hendrix and Clapton in the way that most people would say it. I don’t think Hendrix was a guitarist. I very much doubt if he was interested in guitar playing as such. He was just a person who had something to say and got on and said it.
“Clapton I think is mostly quite banal, although he did some exciting things earlier in his life with Mayall. I saw Cream live once and I thought they were quite awful. Clapton’s work since, I think, has been excessively tedious.”
As scathing as some of these hot takes are, there was one guitarist who Fripp let off the hook – Jeff Beck, whose playing he said he could “appreciate as good fun”.
Despite Fripp’s old and bold remarks, he’s since had a lot of fun covering both Hendrix and Cream classics for his Sunday Lunch covers series on YouTube alongside Willcox, which you can watch below.
The post The time Robert Fripp claimed Jimi Hendrix “wasn’t a guitarist” and that Eric Clapton was “mostly quite banal” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Alex Lifeson joins Tom Morello onstage to jam a Rush classic – during surprise guest spot in the band’s home city
Guitar Center employee admits to using rude customers’ credit cards to steal over $5,000
A Guitar Center employee from Ohio used customers’ credit cards for personal purchases after they were rude to him, reports claim.
Management allegedly learned of the purchases after a customer called about a transaction made at the store that was not his. The employee, 18, is also believed to have copied the credit cards of two other customers.
The report comes from news outlet Cleveland.com, which says a further investigation revealed that the employee had charged $5,087 to the other two credit cards. It claims the man chose customers as “victims” who were “rude to him, used foul language and made situations bad for him”.
The report does not clarify the outcome of the investigation, or what has happened to the employee since these thefts occurred. Guitar.com has reached out to Guitar Center for further information.
In other Guitar Center news, the company’s CEO, Gabe Dalporto, said he wasn’t afraid of competition from large brands like Gibson and Fender in a recent interview. His comments arrive among rising competition as more brands continue to sell directly to their customers thanks to online shopping.
“This is a competitive market. It always has been,” he told Guitar World in June. “We welcome it. I think if we give an amazing experience, we win.”
He added, “Nike tried to go direct and tried to pull back from retailers, and Nike got crushed. It’s important, if you are a brand, to have those relationships with your vendors, but bring the competition on. I just think we have a much larger, more integrated experience. You can experience all the products, not just one.”
The post Guitar Center employee admits to using rude customers’ credit cards to steal over $5,000 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“They just happened to sound like someone else, but that’s not their fault. So, stop it”: Tobias Forge defends Greta Van Fleet – and says the future of rock is bright
Is rock ‘n’ roll dead? Well, despite some – including Kiss‘s Gene Simmons, thinking it is – Ghost frontman Tobias Forge believes the future of rock music is bright.
In a new interview with Consequence, Forge insists that the next big rock ‘n’ roll act is just waiting in the wings.
“I think it was Gene Simmons that said it most times, but a lot of people have said that rock ‘n’ roll is dead and there will be no new headliners,” he says. “I understand that it’s been sparse, but I think that with the unfortunate disappearance of a lot of [legacy] bands… I do believe that with time I think that there will be more [headlining rock] bands.”
With genre veterans like Kiss breaking up after 50 years, it’s certainly time for new blood to enter into the rock world. Forge points to the likes of Sleep Token, Måneskin and Greta Van Fleet as those bearing this flag.
“They are all new bands. I think they prove that you can absolutely go places. You can form a band tomorrow and theoretically become a big band within a few years. I think you do so by trying to want to create something.”
In Forge’s eyes, there’s somewhat of a prejudice towards new bands. “I think that there’s this strange time phenomenon that happened somewhere in the 2000s where everything that was sort of old was ‘old’, and everything that came after was ‘new’,” Forge explains.
It’s something Forge chalks up to age. Older music fans often abide by the rock and metal “hierarchy”, Forge notes. “There’s this idea in large swaths of metal community that the hierarchy is based on age,” he says. “[Post-2000s bands] just keep on being labelled as new, especially by people who at the time were in their 20s or 30s or 40s and now are in their 40s, 50s, 60s.”
He goes on to defend Greta Van Fleet, who Rolling Stone labelled ‘expert forgers’ in 2018 for sounding like Led Zeppelin. The band have been labelled as ‘derivative’ since they first hit the rock scene. “I don’t wanna hear anything about Greta Van Fleet now, because I think that their intentions are true,” he insists. “They just happened to sound like someone else, but that’s not their fault! So, stop it.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Forge harks back to Avenged Sevenfold’s Download Festival headline debut in 2014. Much like with Greta Van Fleet, it felt like another form of older fans rejecting anything they consider to be ‘new’, regardless of a band’s quality.
Forge has found that younger rockers feel less prejudice towards ‘new’ bands, as they grow up with them. “If you ask a lot of our fans who are 15 years old now, just the fact that our band has been around for 15 years, do you think that they think that we are a new band?” he says. “No! And that’s how it should be.”
Of course, Forge is aware that certain acts – including Ghost – receive flack for being inspired by the ‘old’ bands. But, in his eyes, plenty of up-and-coming acts take their inspiration as a springboard, forging something entirely new.
“I understand that we’re just a Mercyful Fate/Blue Öyster Cult/Alice Cooper wannabe band,” he jokes. “But you need to do something new. Don’t look at your one idol and say, ‘I wanna be like him. I want to be like her. I want my band to sound exactly like that band.’ That’s most likely not gonna get you anywhere.”
The post “They just happened to sound like someone else, but that’s not their fault. So, stop it”: Tobias Forge defends Greta Van Fleet – and says the future of rock is bright appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“I realized I had something very exciting on my hands. I wasn’t expecting it at all”: Guitarist ends up unwittingly buying John Lennon’s old Fender Deluxe – after the suspected White Album combo ended up on Facebook Marketplace
“The wood buyers didn’t think we would be able to use it. I went, ‘Oh no, that's going to turn into a ridiculous color’”: PRS turned unwanted wood into some of its best guitar finishes – including the one found on Paul Reed Smith’s go-to guitar
“To be honest, I think most people will only be aware of the Led Zeppelin version”: Teenage blues phenom Muireann Bradley is keeping O.G. acoustic blues alive – and taking Where the Levee Breaks back to the source
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